E 449 
.J415 
Copy 1 



JUDGE JAY'S PORTRAIT AT WHITE PLAINS. 



CORRESPONDENCE 




IN REFERENCE TO 



Its Original Acceptance by the County of 

Westchester, and the Recent Attempt to 

Remove it from the Court House. 



NEW YORK: 
JAMES G. GREGORY, 46 WALKER STREET. 

1863. 



• J4 15" 



Introduction. 



Mi:. ( I. API" AND OTHERS TO Mi:. JAY. 

John Jay, i 

1 1 lb Sib: 

I* seems thai a Resolution was introduced before 

the Board of Supervisors of Westchester County, at its 

•.. having for its object tin- removal from the 

1 irl Room of the County, of the Portrait of the late 

Hon. William - ! Resolution which we believe t.» 

have b ! by the citizens of the County, 

ami which proved t.><> distasteful t<> the Board t<> pass. 

We would be glad to learn what are the tact- and 

lumstances under which tin- Portrait was received 

ami placed in it- present position; and presuming thai 

they are fully known by you, we would !»<■ obliged by 

information on the s©bjec1 which you will furnish 

is. 

Yours respectfully, 

John J. Clapp, 
Thomas Nelson, 
Samuel E. Li 
C. II. Mitchell. 
. 22, L8< 



MR. JAY'S EEPLY. 

To John J. Clapp, Thomas Nelson, Samuel E. Lyon, 
and C. H. Mitchell, Esquires. 

Dear Sirs : 

I have received, this morning, your note of yester- 
day, touching the recent proposition in the Board of Su- 
pervisors of Westchester County to remove my father's 
portrait from the Court House at White Plains, and 
asking me to advise you oi the facts and circumstances 
under which the portrait was received and placed in its 
present position. 

I recognise the request as coming from gentlemen 
long identified with the County, and prominently repre- 
senting its bar : and in reply I beg leave to submit to 
you the correspondence which I recently had with the 
Board of Supervisors, my letter to them of the 12th of 
December referring as I believe, to all the material cir- 
cumstances with which I am acquainted. 

Your reference to the fact that the proposition was 
condemned, as you believe, by the citizens of- the 
County, and that it proved distasteful to the Board, 
seems to justify me in acknowledging my deep obliga- 
tions to yourselves and other gentlemen of the bar, to 
my fellow citizens generally of all parties and all opin- 
ions, and especially to the members of the Board of 
Supervisors who have firmly and successfully resisted the 
effort to remove the portrait of Judge Jay. That por- 
trait was not placed where it is, as has been erroneously 



intimated, on party grounds, nor by my lather's "po- 
litical admirers." vas not placed there as the por- 
trait of an abolitionist, holding views acceptable only 

part of the people; but as the portrait of a Jud 
who had done his duty faithfully by the whole ; a Judge 
who with scrupulous can- guarded the rights and inter- 

of the County, purifying the political atmosphere 
in which he moved, Betting himself an example of econ- 
omy and fidelity to all public officers; a Judge whose 
lone administration of the Judiciary was signalized by 
no breaches of trust involving public infamy and pub- 
lic debt; whose rectitude was not swayed by political 
bias: who never used his power but for the advance- 
ment of justice: who never winked ;ii crime: never 
tolerated party corruption or party jobbery; and who, 

is universally conceded by friends and foes, never 
soiled the purity of the ermine, by making it a cloak 

the rewarding of partisans, for the gratification of 
enmities, for the achieving <>f political manoeuvres, or 
the advancement <>t' personal ambition. 

It was the purity of his character and life as a jurist 
and a man, and not his opinions nor his party, which the 
people, after his death, united to honor, and which they 
have now united t«> defend; and differing as 1 have 
done, and as perhaps I new do more or less with a 
majority of my fellow citizens of the County, I can the 
better appreciate the magnanimity with which they 

►enize historic traditions and the memory of the 
jugj ommOD inheritance to be transmitted to our 



children, and to be shielded from the breath of slander 
and the hand of malice. 

Cherishing as I do my father's memory, I cannot be — 
I am not, insensible to the spontaneous, the affectionate 
tributes to his worth, which this matter has called forth, 
from those who during his life were the warmest oppo- 
nents of his political and his theologic views ; and in 
the prompt defeat of the attempt to remove his portrait 
from the Court Boom, I find new occasion for attach- 
ment to the ancient County of Westchester, with which 
my family have been so long and so intimately asso- 
ciated. 

I am, clear Sirs, 

Very faithfully yours, 

John Jay. 

194 Fifth Avenue, New Yoke, ) 
December 23, 1862. ) 



CORRESPONDENCE 



WITH THE 



Westchester Board of Supervisors, touching 
the Portrait of Judge Jay. 



!. mi:, jay to the board of supervisors. 
I Supervisors 

\v*E8TCH1 31 ! i: ( JOUNTY : 

hen.— I am advised to-day, for the first time, that 

a Resolution has been introduced into your proceedings for 

the removal from the Court Room of the portrait of Judge 

Jay, which a former Board of Supervisors formally accepted 

placed by their Committee in its present position. 

Believing thai a proposition so violative of good faith, and 

spectfnl to the memory of my father, could only be 

■ ! by you from a misapprehension of the facts of the 

I nol a moment in requesting that you will favor 

me with a copy of til'' Resolution, and that you will postpone 

any further action upon it until I can submit a statement and 

correspondence in reply. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

John Jay. 
194 Fifth Avenue, Dec. 8,1862. 



No. II.— THE CLERK OF THE SUPERVISORS TO MR. JAY. 

Board of Supervisors, Westchester Co., } 
White Plains, Dec. 10, 1862. f 

John Jay, Esq. : 

Dear Sir, — In conformity with a resolution passed by this 
Board yesterday, in compliance with your request, I herewith 
forward to you a copy of the Resolution referred to in your 
communication to this Board. 

Very respectfully yours, &c, 

J. M. Smith, Clerk. 

THE RESOLUTIONS. 

" Whereas, a Committee of the Legal profession of this 
County have expressed the desire to present this County, 
through the medium of the Board of Supervisors, with a large 
and finely executed Portrait, painted in oil from an original 
portrait by Jarvis, and excellently copied by the celebrated 
artist Elliott, of the late Governor Daniel D. Tompkins, pro- 
vided a conspicuous and proper place over the Judge's desk 
in the Court Room is assigned for its position and permanent 
place therein ; and whereas, the many public and private vir- 
tues and eminent public services of Governor Tompkins — a 
native of this County — have embalmed his memory in the 
affections of its people ; and the many distinguished public 
positions held by him in his lifetime, viz., a Justice of the 
Supreme Court of this State — the Governor thereof — and the 
Vice President of the United States, — entitles his portrait to 
the best position in the Court Room : 

" Therefore he it Resolved, That this Board of Supervisors 
will gladly and most cheerfully accept, in behalf of the 
County, said portrait of Daniel D. Tompkins, and assign to it 
the desired position in said Court Room ; and the Committee 
on Repairs and Supplies of this Board are hereby charged 
with the duty of receiving the same and placing it over said 
Judge's desk. 



9 

• /,'■ wived, That the said Committee on Repairs and Sup- 
plies be and are hereby authorized and directed to return the 
portrait now hanging over said desk to the owner thereof, or 
hold the same Bubject to his order." 

No. in.— MR 'AY TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. 

To . S i of 

WeSTI HESTER CoUNTY : 

. — I had yesterday the honor of acknowledging 

the receipt, through your Clerk, Mr. Smith, of a copy of the 

.inhli- and Resolutions offered in your Board on the 1st 

1 I sember instant, and of thanking you for your prompt cour- 

;i furnishing them at my request 

rring to that pari of the Resolutions in regard 
t<. which I propose to address you, it may not be improper for 
;v thai I heartily concur in the testimony embodied in 
the Resolutions, to k ' the many public and 
prival and emiuent public services of Governor 

1 especially revere his memory for virtues and 
that tin- Preamble omits to notice, hut which the 
world will not readily forget. I honor tin- name of Daniel D. 
Tompkins a- that of the Governor of New Fork who com- 
pleted the work early begun by one of his predecessors of 
abolishing Blavery within our borders; and who, by thus set- 
ting ince pro-slavery prejudice and pro-slavery dicta- 
, boldly exhibited his belief in the truths declared by our 
lirth, relieved the fair fame of our State from 
;• dark reproach, accomplished a great act of justice to a 
wronged and helpless race, and inscribed his name high upon 
roll of philanthropists. His name stands a bright example, 
never more valuable than at this moment, for the admiration 
American citizens and the imitation of American statesmen. 
Many of our countrymen have nobly advocated the truths 
proclaimed by Jefferson, but to Governor Tompkins belonged 
the rare glory Of being an abolitionist not only in theory but, 
In any honor, therefore, that the Board of Su- 



10 

pervisors of "Westchester County can properly render to his 
memory, they will have the cordial concurrence of the loyal 
and philanthropic citizens, not simply of the County which 
you represent, but of our country at large, and especially of 
that class of our fellow citizens who atfectionately remember 
him as the deliverer of themselves, their parents, and their 
children, from the curse of slavery.* 

It is peculiarly fitting that the Democratic party, of which 
he was so bright an ornament, should be taught to revere his 
principles and his example ; that the portrait of the Governor 
so long known as " the Farmer Boy of Westchester " should 
adorn the Court Room of the County that gave him birth, 
and that it should be suspended in the most honorable place 
which you are at liberty to assign to it. 

The question whether you are altogether at liberty to as- 
sign to it the particular place which your predecessors have 
already allotted, is a minor question, that does not at all in- 
fringe upon the propriety, which no one recognizes more cor- 
dially than myself, of doing honor to the immortal memory 
of Governor Tompkins. 

The Preamble to the Resolutions recites that a committee 
of the legal profession of the County have proposed to present 
to the County a portrait of Governor Tompkins, provided a 
place over the Judge's desk in the Court Room is assigned for 
its position, and the first of the proposed Resolutions declares 
that the Board of Supervisors will accept it, " and assign to it 
the required position," and further charges the Committee on 
"Repairs and Supplies" with the duty of receiving the same 
and placing it over the said Judge's desk. 

*The message of Governor Tompkins to the Legislature, 28th January, 1817, 
earnestly recommending the establishment of a day on which slavery in New York 
should forever cease, contained this memorable passage : 

" What more acceptable return can a grateful and enlightened people make to 
the Heavenly donor of these great benefits, than by emancipating from bitter servi- 
tude that portion of his creatures which still continues to be held in unjust and cruel 
bondage by civilized and independent freemen ? " 

The Act of Emancipation thus recommended was passed within two months from 
the date of this message. 



11 

The second of the proposed Resolutions is as follows : 

•• //, i r ,/, That the said Committee on Repairs and Sup- 
plies be and are hereby authorized and directed to return the 
]>. >rt rait now hanging over said desk to the owner thereof, or 
hold the same subject to his order/' 

portrait tlms referred to, as the one "now hanging 
oyer the said desk," is the portrait of my father, the late Judge 
Jay; and I presume thai I ain the person intended to be re- 
ferred to as " tin- owner thereof." 

J am not insensible to the delicacy of my position, in refer- 
any contemplated action of your body, involving the 
entertained by your Board, or by the 
lester Oonnty, whom you represent, for the 
,,rv and character and life of Judge Jay; but believing, 
; miH do, thai t lie mover «.f the Resolutions, and probably, 
ird at large, are unadvised of the distinct assurances 
the behalf of the people of the County, by a former 
the Westchester Board of Supervisors ; I deem 
it to I.,, bnt a simple dnty, in justice to the Board, to the 
pie of the Oonnty, to my father's memory, and to his sur- 
ng friends, to B nbmit to the present Board of Supervisors 
th( . the case. I feel that I have no right silently to 

acqniesce in the passage of resolutions by your body, which, 
lin their em to me to imply either singular ignorance 

Inge of your predecessors, or— and this latter 
native I decline to entertain— a wanton disregard of the 
honor of the County. _ 

On the 8th of November, 1S5S, a meeting of the Bar ot 

^ , County was held at Bedford, in honor of Judge 

f , v v mem0 ry. Aj the proceedings- of that meeting led to 

tim of the portrait, I will endeavor to procure a 

copy of them to enclose in this letter. 

The suggestion which more immediately led to the ofler ot 
the portrait was made in these words, by the presiding officer 
of t£ e meeting, the Hon. Wm. H. Robertson. After recall- 
ing his own personal obligations to Judge Jay, and paying a 



12 
high tribute to his eminence as a jurist, Judge Robertson 

" In conclusion, I would state that Mr. John Jay has in his 
possession an excellent portrait of his father-a copy of which 
might be made by some eminent artist, and suspended in the 
court room at White Plains. It would subserve an excellent 
purpose. Judges would be prompted to emulate his example ■ 
counsel might be incited to take higher position than that of 
the mere pettifogger ; jurors would be impelled to render ex- 
act justice to plaintiff and defendant ; while witnesses, suitors 
and spectators would be inspired with purer motives." 

Although not, perhaps, sharing to the full these bright an- 
ticipations, I was not insensible to the fitness of the suggestion 
which I understood the Bar cordially approved ; and prefer- 
ring that those gentlemen should not be called upon to sub- 

oTtt iT^^T 5 J Wr ° te t0 Judge Robe ^™, as Allows, 
on the 12th November, 1858 : 

"I have read in the Post, of last evening, with much in- 
terest, the proceedings of the Westchester Bar, at Bedford, in 
honor of my father's memory, and I feel deeply grateful to 
you and theother gentlemen who took part in the proceed- 
ings, for their warm-hearted tribute to his character and their 
kind sympathy with his family. 

"In reference to your suggestion that a copy of my 
fathers portrait, n, my possession, should be procured for the 
Court House at White Plains, allow me to say, that if thai 
suggestion is approved by the proper authorities it will rive 
nie : pleasure to have a copy made by a competent artist, and 
to present it to the County. 

"Perhaps you will be good enough to make known this 

accepted" 1 " ^^^ and advise m « if *> gift will be 

a ddLl hink ^ ™ S recommended b J J"dge Robertson to 
address myself directly to the Board of Supervisors, and that 
i did so ; and your files probably contain my letter 
I soon after received the following letter : 



13 

■■ Joan .1 AV . El " Bedtoed > Member 6, 1858. 

D>ua 8m,— Tie Dodenigned were appointed by the Board 
'" " |,in " Connty to info™ yon tnat 

"ishtotheConntyapo^aitofth 
J»7 wae gratefnlly received and highly appro- 

, """ " « with the privile^ of receiv- 

" n< '"• >"*» "" ■-»■ -iehe. or c ,„i^' may sugg t ? 

J - Bpectfnlly, 

H. D. Robi irrsox, 1 

G. A. Brahdbeth, fcw&, 

A. Ya.V CoBTLANDT, ) 

[ replied as follows : 

OMMTTTEE OP THE SUPERVISORS. 

Umn. W. D. Boketsoh, **" V " liK ' Dec ' 13 ' 1858 - 

* '• — B .m i;i in and 

A. \ AS Cobtlahdt, Esquire?, 

ftfu Westchester 
Board qfSup ( roisors : 
G to acknowledge the receipt of your 

obhgingnote of ^the 6th December instant, accepting my offer 
-'jJ-'-rnut of my father for the Court House at White 

1 ll;lv " t;l '"'" t ' 1 -' ps towards the proenrance of a 

P«>per copy ol one painted some years since by Mr. Wcnzler 

which is regarded by the family as a very striking likeness :' 

1 Wl11 endeavor to secure its completion at as early a 

«aj Ik. practicable, when I will have the honor" of 

a advising yon. 

I am, gentlemen, 

Very respectfully, 

Your obliged and ob't serv't, 

J >hn Jay. 



.14 

There was, at that time, no other portrait suspended in, or 
belonging to, the Court Room, and the idea was, I believe, 
generally entertained that the proper place for the picture 
would be the one it now occupies, behind the Judge's seat, 
where an arched recess, then curtained in front, afforded an 
outer frame work, in which, by a clever architect, a picture 
might be readily fitted. The Committee were understood to 
approve it. The artist, who personally visited the Court Room, 
was of the same opinion, and so, as it appeared, was the ar- 
chitect of the Court House. 

A study of the portrait was carefully made, and then it 
was painted, as you see it, with a conscientious regard on the 
part of the accomplished artist to its intended placement, to 
the propriety of the attitude, the moral fitness of the acces- 
sories, and the harmony of its tone and coloring with the sur- 
roundings of the Court Room. 

On the 23d February, 1859, the Committee of the Super- 
visors were advised that Mr. "Wenzler had completed his 
work, that the frame which had been ordered would be pres- 
ently ready, and that Mr. Wenzler would like their consent 
to exhibit the picture at the annual exhibition of the artist, 
before its final removal to "White Plains. 

They were also distinctly advised by letter of what had 
been already verbally agreed upon, and it was proposed, 
" with their approval, to have the portrait hung behind the 
Judge's seat ; " and that, " with the view of so arranging it as 
to accord most favorably with the general appearance of the 
Court Room," and to facilitate the early completion of the 
matter, not on individual responsibility, but by the authority 
and under the direction of the Supervisors, the Committee were 
asked for " a note to the architect of the Court House, with 
authority to hang the picture in such manner as the architect 
and the artist may suggest, and as you may approve." 

In reply to that suggestion, a note was received from the 
chairman of the Committee, the Hon. Hezekiah D. Robertson, 
dated March 16, 1859, apologizing for the delay of his answer, 
as caused by absence from home, consenting to the exhibition 
of the portrait by the artist, and remarking, " It is certainly 



15 

t, t.-Hi.-pend the picture so as to accord 
arorably with the general appearance of the Court 

n." 

lay the Committee, by their chairman, ad- 
dressed the following note to the architect of the Court House : 

THE COMMITTEE TO THE ARCHITECT. 

Westchksteb Codhty Ci.i kk's Office,) 
Whttb Plains, March 16, 1859. j 
K. < t. Batfield, Esq., 

' ,f < ouiity Court House : 

: A- the last Besgion of the Board of Supervisors 
of tlii- County, a Committee was appointed to receive and 
pend a portrait of the late Jndge Jay in the Court Room; 
and ai your the most suitable place for hang- 

in- the portrait is deemed desirable, I take the liberty of ad- 
drei i this note. After a conference with Mr. John 

authorized to suspend the portrait 
in any manner that may meel with your joint approval. 

Fours, &c, 

II. I). Robertson, 

Chan- i nan of Committee. 

1 'ft ween' the architect and the artist were had, 
and lnl to th a that a square frame which had been 

made for the picture Bhould be replaced by anew one, arched 
at the top to correspond with the recess behind the Judge's 
: and in the recess I believe a new framing of wood was 
rted for the reception of the gilt frame of the picture. 
I arranged with Mr. Hatfield for the payment of the bills 
for the new frame, the carpenter, and other work thus ren- 
dered necessary, as well as for his own services. I am not 
aware that any part of the expenses connected with the por- 
trait, or with the architect's work in the Court Room, performed 
under the direction of the Committee, was borne by the County ; 
and I subsequently understood that the placing of the portrait 




16 

Lit ":~- :~ f-frrr^; : _ :. ; : ~r •: ~ :7f rfr :!;--.-:. :: 
:: 7ii . -rir t_": f: . : ": j :_.- ^ - - - 

■ 
ind recollection 

- 
■ - . - : T: : .-. - :-: ~ L\: 

— 

n:> i;:-eif - . ; - .- - r ~ 7..~r :-e7: :_" - 
a g i a c efa l act of homage to the memor 

: 
- _ - 

iaet that th :*=e tV;. eolosixed him bad for long yean differed 

- _ - ■ ■ 

past hostility, personal or politicaL to interfere 

: 

» a man. Their eondaet on that 

•:-::2i - —:.- — . :- _ re: ^' z-i i.- i: : riizj — .-.. -. t ::r" "7 

-'--■ ■ - ■ - 

■ - . -~ " 

7 - - 

-;. — 1J.- ~ .-::-. 7 -_---: '.11 .--•: I - : A :_■ - _ :- 
I I . " - ' 

- - rirr P. Barker, 
r*=e I- Jordan, who so freqnent- 
zreat talents to assist in : ts forum ; the vener- 
_ 
---'-.--. : .--7-- ii : :7c 7r.-r ::' -.-:. ..-7-'.r 7 -.:_•:- ~7 

-_ Li --:- 7---:- 7..r7 I n:> .-. 1 ;7~ :••:. '7_:7 ;,-. : 



17 

taut, — these names and memories afford no slight guaran- 

gainst the commission of any act that would tarnish its 
ancient record, or impair its hereditary character for the gen- 
tlemanly courtesy that of right he-longs to the >n. 

If a single member of the Westchester Bar is capable of 
carrying political partisanship beyond the grave, or of venting 
his malig id the living in insults to the dead, 

the profonndest assurance that the honorable members of the 

j.iester Bar will have no more sympathy with such a pro- 
ceeding than will the people of the County, or of the country : 
and that they will be prompt to repel with contempt an im- 
putation of sympathy with that sort of warfare. 

In conclusion, gentlemen, I have shown you that my 
to the County of a portrait of Judge Jay was induced bv a 
- __ - ig officer at a meeting of the West- 

. - : :hat that offer was distinctly accepted, with ex- 

>f gratitude by the Board of Supervisors, and a • 
mittee of the Board appointed, in their own words, " ton 

- tspend the portrait:'' that, afte: ceptance, the 

portrait was painted for the County with careful regard to the 
place it was to occupy, framed, and again re-framed, at the 
suggestion of your own architect, acting under the direction 
of your own Committee, with elaborate alterations in the - - 
round' o iwork, with the view to its being made a 

manent fixture in perfect accordance with the architi 
the Court House : that in the whole proceeding my conduct 

narked by a proper delicacy, that I neither dictated nor 
ordered, but through the long interval that elaj - a the 

acceptance of my offer, to the final placing of the portrait, 
I uniformly consulted the Committee of the Board, and left 
all to their direction. 

Their frank courtesy, and their assurances in regard to the 
appreciation by the Supervisors and the people of "Westches- 
ter, of the _ - sted by the members of the Bar. had not, 
I confess, prepared me for such a Resolution as that which 
authorizes and directs your Committee on Repairs and Sup- 
plies "to return the portrait now hanging over the desk to 
the owner thereof, or hold the same subject to his order." 
2 



18 

Having thus frankly acquainted yon with the facts con- 
nected with the past history of the portrait, — facts which it 
seemed proper you should clearly understand, and which, in 
view of the action proposed for your adoption, have become, 
perhaps, of public interest, I feel that I have done all that my 
position in the matter renders proper ; and, without suggestion 
as to the course you may think fit to pursue, 

I have the honor to be, gentlemen, 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JOHN JAY. 
194 Fifth Avenue, 
New York, Dec. 12, 1862. 



19 



PROCEEDINGS 

(Referred to in the Preceding Letter) 

Of the Bar of Westchester County in Honor of Judge 
Jay's Memory. 

{From the "Eastern State Journal," White Plains, Nov. 12, 1858.) 

At a meeting of the Court and Bar of the County of Westchester, 
at Bedford Court House, on the 8th instant, William H. Robertson was 
called to the chair, and John P. Jenkins appointed Secretary. 

Judge Robertson, upon taking the chair, announced the decease of 
William Jay, of Bedford, an old and well-known member of the legal 
1 rofession, and for many years a Justice of this Court. 

Mr. William Nelson then proposed the following preamble and 
resolutions ; 

Whereas, since the last term of the court of this county, the hand 
of Death has removed from among us the Honorable William Jay, for 
a quarter of a century the presiding officer of the Court of Common 
Pleas, whose official career was marked by extensive learning, punc- 
tilious attention to his duties, strict and fearless uprightness, as well as 
by uniform courtesy toward the Bar, and all others with whom he was 
brought into contact; and whose life was noted for a conscientious 
observance of justice toward all, for eminent usefulness, and every vir- 
tue ennobling to human character — thus securing for him the veneration 
and regard of all classes of his fellow citizens ; therefore, 

Resolved, That this meeting takes this opportunity to express their 
,l''"p sympathy with the family and friends of Judge Jay, in the be- 
reavement which they sustain by his death. 

Resolved, That Judge Jay, by the purity and simplicity of his life, 
by his liberality toward every measure deemed by him to be conducive 
to the benefit of his follow men, by his strict justice, by his hatred of 
oppression and wrong, by or upon whomsoever inflicted," by his love for 
those cherished truths which regulated his conduct, and sustained and 
cheered him at the termination of his career, has left behind him an 
example worthy of our studious imitation ; and that the reverence with 
which the name and character of our departed friend were mentioned 
everywhere, illustrates the truth of the inspired declaration, that " the 
memory of the just is blessed." 

Resolved, That his Honor Judge Robertson is hereby requested to 



20 

cause the foregoing preamble and resolutions to be entered upon the 
minutes of the County Court of this County, and that the Clerk of said 
Court be directed to transmit a copy to the family of the late Judge Jay. 

Mr. Nelson spoke of his relations to the family of the deceased 
commencing with the late John Jay, the incorruptible statesman and 
upright jurist, and went on to say that William Jay had ever proved 
himself worthy of his parentage. He recited his virtues, and said that 
his example was a worthy one, and safe to imitate. 

Mr. Robert S. Hart seconded the resolutions, and eulogized the 
late Judge Jay as a lover of justice, the hater of every species of 
oppression, the Christian jurist, the pure and virtuous citizen, who ever 
had shown himself the friend and encourager of young men, and the 
glory of the judicial station. A great man had fallen, one whom they 
had been long accustomed to revere and esteem ; and now, in their 
grief, they looked in vain for another worthy to bear his mantle, or 
succeed to his honors. 

Judge Robertson, upon putting the motion, remarked that he felt 
himself obligated to join in this tribute to the memory of Judge Jay, 
from the peculiar relations that had existed between them. He had 
been born within sight of his mansion, and enjoyed his friendship from 
his youth upward. He gave me his confidence, continued Mr. Robert- 
son, and his approbation of my conduct. The success attending me 
was ever to him a source of pleasure ; as, indeed, was the prosperity 
of every young man of his acquaintance. 

From 1818 till 1843 he was Judge of this Court. His judicial 
career was worthy of his noble sire, John Jay, the statesman ol 
Revolution, the author of the glorious State Constitution of 1777, and 
the first head of the United States Supreme Court. He was a model 

er, a just judge. If ed justice from the bench with learn- 

ing and wisdom, with stern integrity and the strictest impartiality. 
His neighbors, his friends, strangers, the rich and the poor, were pun- 
ished alike for violation of law. 

During the twenty-five years that he was Judge of this county, no 
trial, civil or criminal, occupied more than one day. It may appear 
strange to the younger members of the bar, that so great rapidity 

it saving of time, could be exercised in the dispensing of justiYe, 
and the rights of all be regarded. But Judge Jay was a jurist of the 
highest attainments. Whenever a point was raised, he was familiar 
with it, and the law applicable to it, and usually decided it without 
argument. If either party sought to introduce irrelevant or improper 



21 

testimony, he would reject it immediately, before the other party had 
time to raise an objection. It will thus be perceived, by all familiar 
with trials, and who' are aware how much time is occupied in arguing 
motions, and in the introduction of irrelevant testimony, how it was 
that Judge Jay, by divesting the proceedings of all this useless rubbish, 
and confining them to the main issues, was enabled to dispose of cases 
so summarily, and at the same time so justly. He was just to the 
prosecution ; he was just to the prisoner ; and he regarded the interests 
of the people of this County. 

He was an exemplary citizen. Those with whom he differed in 
sentiment always conceded to him sincerity, purity, and integrity. He 
was religious without intolerance, upright without bigotry, merciful and 
generous without weakness. As a man in private, public, and Chris- 
tian life, he was a rare model. By his death, the community in which 
he lived has lost one of its most useful members, humanity one of its 
brightest ornaments, Christianity one of its noblest exemplars. 

In conclusion, I would state, that Mr. John Jay has in his posses- 
sion an excellent portrait of his father, a copy of which might be made 
by some eminent artist, and suspended in the Court Room at White 
Plains. It would subserve an excellent purpose. Judges would be 
prompted to emulate his example. Counsel might be incited to take 
higher position than that of the mere pettifogger. Jurors would be 
impelled to render exact justice to plaintiff and defendant ; while wit- 
nesses, suitors, and spectators would be inspired with purer motives. 

The resolutions were put and adopted ; after which, the meeting 
was adjourned. 

At the opening of Court, on motion of Mr. Nelson, the proceedings 
were ordered to be engrossed upon the records. 



22 



Protest against the Removal of Judge Jay's Portrait. 

Presented to the Board Dec. 15, 1862, by Mr. C. S. Brown. 



To the Board of Supervisors of the County, of Westchester : 

The undersigned, having learned with regret that a proposition has 
been introduced in your body for the removal of the portrait of the 
Hon. William Jay from the Court Room in the new Court House at 
White Plains, respectfully but earnestly request you to discountenance 
the same. 

Many of us were well acquainted with Judge Jay, and can speak 
from personal knowledge of those high qualities which have given him 
an historic celebrity. Whilst he entertained and vigorously vindicated de- 
cided opinions on certain questions which have much divided society, 
and produced much acrimony of feeling, in which many of us did not 
sympathize with him ; yet we can all bear testimony to the noble frank- 
ness and sincerity of his nature, to his deep interest in all questions 
tending to advance the interests of his race, to his widespread charities, 
to his love of justice and hatred of wrong, and to the extraordinary 
intellectual strength displayed by him on all occasions in giving expres- 
sion to his convictions. 

Especially when we remember his long connection, with the Bench 
of this County, when this upright magistrate for nearly a quarter of 
a century served the public comparatively without pecuniary compen- 
sation, adorning his station with learning, patience, urbanity, and fear- 
lessness, we cannot refrain from according to his memory the tribute of 
our respect for eminent judicial worth. 

The undersigned believe that the proposed measure, if adopted and 
carried out, can be regarded in no other light than a sacrilege to the 
! m it would be an act of great injustice to the memory of one 



23 

who, upon the distinguished name he inherited, shed additional lustre ; 
that it would needlessly inflict a deep wound upon the sensibilities of 
the living relatives of Judge Jay ; that it would be an implied censure 
upon all those by whose agency the portrait was placed where it is ; 
that it woidd be a reproach to the County ; and that, sooner or later, the 
parties seeking its removal, and the children of such, would themselves 
feel regret and sorrow that the thing had been done. 

With all proper respect to this Board, and each member of it, the 
undersigned, as citizens of the County of Westchester, feeling, as they 
believe they do, a becoming interest in whatever concerns the honor of 
our County, and the reputation of its distinguished citizens, most ear- 
nestly remonstrate against the adoption of the proposed resolution, and 
respectfully ask the Board to reject the same, in such terms as to the 
Board shall seem appropriate. 

[Signed by] Hon. William Nelson, 

Owen T. Coffin, 
Charles A. Lee, Jr., 
S. K. Knapp, 
Uriah Hill, Jr., 
Frost Horton, 
D. F. Clapp, 
And a large number of others. 



POST-SCRIPTUM. 

It may be proper to add that an editorial in the White Plains u Eastern State Jour- 
nal" of December 26, 1862, entitled " The Jay Portrait Controversy," contains a charge 
against the Committee who, in the name of the Supervisors, accepted the portrait and 
empowered the architect to suspend it, of being self-appointed and acting without 
authority. It does not appear from the recent proceedings of the Board that any 
such charge has been preferred in that body against the gentlemen of that Committee 
— or that the Board during the last three years has in any way disapproved their 
action. 

It is also asserted in the same article that the portrait was placed where it is "as 
a party measure" by " political admirers of the late William Jay," and that " it was 
put up clandestinely and at night after most people had retired to their beds" — and 
11 was chuckled over at the time as a successful party trick." 

The facts which have led to this misapprehension are thus referred to in a letter 
from Mr. Hatfield, the architect of the Court House, dated February 20, 1860 : 

" On Thursday the picture was taken from the depot to the Court House. The 
box containing it was opened in front of the building, and the picture carried up 



24 



'\t. 



stairs to the door of the Court room, but no farther. The door was locked. * * * 
The next morning when he (Mr. Hatfield's assistant) got there, he asked for the key. 
It was given him, but the picture was gone from the box. Looking into the Court 
room he found it set up in its place, tied with strings. He did not learn how it 
came there, lie removed the Btrings, and secured it in its place with screws, and 
then finished his work. 1 heard from there yesterday charges that an attempt had 
been made to place the picture there by stealth in the nignt. This was news indeed. 
No attempt at concealment was made. "When the work was ready I went there 
about ten o'clock in the morning; spoke to the Treasurer and others, letting them 
know what 1 was about to do, and met with no repulse, and knew of no opposition, 
until the time when the picture was being done." 

An editorial in "the Yonkers Examiner" some time afterward disclosed the 
fact that on the same Thursday evening the Court room was opened for a lecture by 
Samuel E. Lyon, Esq., and that after the lecture the portrait was raised to its place 
by some of the gentlemen in attendance. One of them, the late venerable Minott 
Mitchell, suggested to Mr. Lyon and other members of the Bar who chanced to be 
there, as a becoming thing, that the portrait should be placed in its position behind 
the Judge's seat by their own hands, rather than by those of strangers. The fitness 
of the suggestion was cordially recognized and promptly acted upon, and that last 
graceful act of homage to the dead was rendered the more significant by the fact that 
it was paid by his life-long political opponents. This closing incident in the history 
of the portrait, which will cling to it as a tradition, was related by Mr. Mitchell shortly 
h, and is attested by Mr. Lyon, and the other living actors in the 
scene. 

The final proceedings of the Board of Supervisors on the 17th of December on 
the Preamble and Resolutions are reported in the same number of the " Eastern 
State Journal." 

The opposition even of the democratic part of the Board to the resolution directing 
the Committee " to return the portrait now hanging over the Judge's desk to the owner 
fchereof," was decidedly expressed by Mr. Sutherland, and the mover, Mr. Alsop 
H. Lockwood, asked leave to withdraw it ; which being granted, the consideration of 
the rest of the subject was indefinitely postponed by the following vote : 

Ayes : — Messrs. Albert Badeau, of New Rochelle ; C. S. Brown, Cortlandt ; 
W. S. Brown, North Castle; William Cornell, Scarsdale; George W. Devoe, 
West Farms; Samuel Hopper, Harrison; Daniel Hunt, Lewisboro' ; Edward B. 
Lane, New Castle; Abraham B. Reynolds, Ossining; Joseph L. Sutton, North 
Salem; William E. Teed, Somers; James L. Valentine, Yonkers. — 12. 

Noes : — Messrs. Benjamin I. Ambler, Bedford ; James D. Halstead, Rye ; 
Benjamin Hegeman, Pelham ; Jonas D. Hall, Mamaroneck ; Alsop H. Lock- 
wood, Poundridge ; Pelham L. McClelan, East Chester ; Edmund G. Suther- 
land, White Plains; Shadrach Taylor, Greenburgh; Isaac M. Twitchings, 
Mount Pleasant. — 9. 



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